Intimidated by special needs? You don’t have to be.

I don’t think we could handle that.

Thinking about adoption can be scary! Will I be a good parent? Will my child and I bond? Will I be able to provide for the specific needs my child has?

Many families experience these feelings of worry and doubt, especially when filling out the Medical Conditions Checklist — the checklist where they specify what special needs they are open to.

And now, as the profile of children who are eligible for adoption changes to children with more significant special needs, families are learning about conditions that maybe they have never heard of before — conditions that can seem very intimidating at first, like Thalassemia and HIV.

Families should always carefully consider what they can manage. But often, these feelings of worry and doubt are unfounded.

With the technology and resources that are available today in the United States, many conditions that seem impossible to handle are really quite manageable. When given the care that they need, many children with seemingly “scary” special needs go on to live a relatively normal life.

In fact, you likely wouldn’t even know that they had a special need.

But don’t take our word for it. Read stories from families who are now parenting children with some of the more misunderstood special needs.

Because when you see past the special need, you see a child who — just like any other child — deserves love and a family.